so strongly, as she sat there quiet and
withheld, that another set of conditions altogether had come to pass.
Her silence and her immutability perplexed him. HOW was he going to
come to her? And yet he felt it quite inevitable. He trusted completely
to the current that held them. His perplexity was only superficial, new
conditions reigned, the old were surpassed; here one did as one was
possessed to do, no matter what it was.

Birkin rose. It was nearly one o'clock.

'I'm going to bed,' he said. 'Gerald, I'll ring you up in the morning
at your place or you ring me up here.'

'Right,' said Gerald, and Birkin went out.

When he was well gone, Halliday said in a stimulated voice, to Gerald:

'I say, won't you stay here--oh do!'

'You can't put everybody up,' said Gerald.

'Oh but I can, perfectly--there are three more beds besides mine--do
stay, won't you. Everything is quite ready--there is always somebody
here--I always put people up--I love having the house crowded.'

'But there are only two rooms,' said the Pussum, in a cold, hostile
voice, 'now Rupert's here.'

'I know there are only two rooms,' said Halliday, in his odd, high way
of speaking. 'But what does that matter?'

He was smiling rather foolishly, and he spoke eagerly, with an
insinuating determination.

'Julius and I will share one room,' said the Russian in his discreet,
precise voice. Halliday and he were friends since Eton.

'It's very simple,' said Gerald, rising and pressing back his arms,
stretching himself. Then he went again to look at one of the pictures.
Every one of his limbs was turgid with electric force, and his back was
tense like a tiger's, with slumbering fire. He was very proud.

The Pussum rose. She gave a black look at Halliday, black and deadly,
which brought the rather foolishly pleased smile to that young man's
face. Then she went out of the room, with a cold good-night to them all
generally.

There was a brief interval, they heard a door close, then Maxim said,
in his refined voice:

'That's all right.'

He looked significantly at Gerald, and said again, with a silent nod:

'That's all right--you're all right.'

Gerald looked at the smooth, ruddy, comely face, and at the strange,
significant eyes, and it seemed as if the voice of the young Russian,
so small and perfect, sounded in the blood rather than in the air.

'I'M all right then,' said Gerald.

'Yes! Yes! You're all right,' said the Russian.

Halliday